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Shusaku Endo's novel Silence, first published in 1966, endures as one of the greatest works of twentieth-century Japanese literature. Its narrative of the persecution of Christians in seventeenth-century Japan raises uncomfortable questions about God and the ambiguity of faith in the midst of suffering andhostility.

Endo's Silence took internationally renowned visual artist Makoto Fujimura on a pilgrimage of grappling with the nature of art, the significance of pain and his own cultural heritage. His artistic faith journey overlaps with Endo's as he uncovers deep layers of meaning in Japanese history and literature, expressed in art both past and present. He finds connections to how faith is lived in contemporary contexts of trauma and glimpses of how the gospel is conveyed in Christ-hidden cultures.

In this world of pain and suffering, God often seems silent. Fujimura's reflections show that light is yet present in darkness, and that silence speaks with hidden beauty and truth.



Makoto Fujimura is an internationally recognized contemporary artist whose work appears in major museums and galleries around the world. He is also an award-winning author of five books, including Art Is, Art and Faith, Beauty and Justice, and Silence and Beauty. He is the founder of IAMCultureCare and the Fujimura Institute. Fujimura served on the National Council on the Arts as a presidential appointee and he is a celebrated speaker and advocate for the arts.



Introduction: A Pilgrimage

1. A Journey into Silence: Pulverization

2. A Culture of Beauty: Cultural Context for Silence

3. Ambiguity and Faith: Japan, the Ambiguous and Myself

4. Ground Zero

5. Fumi-e Culture

6. Hidden Faith Revealed

7. The Redemption of Father Rodrigues

8. The Aroma: Toward an Antidote to Trauma

9. Mission Beyond the Waves

Acknowledgments

Appendix 1: Endo and Kawabata

Appendix 2: Kenzaburo Oe?s "Human Lamb"

Appendix 3: A Summary of Silence by Shusaku Endo

Notes

Glossary of Japanese Terms

About the Author

Image Credits

Name and Subject Index

Scripture Index